Turris braces for return to Phoenix on Tuesday

LOS ANGELES — The disagreement between Kyle Turris and the Phoenix Coyotes was that he thought he was a better player than they did.

That’s why they laughed when he held out for a contract worth between $3 and $4 million a year, with general manager Don Maloney saying “he can stay at home and watch Oprah.”

The Coyotes saw Turris as more of a third- or fourth-line player than the top-six forward he thought he was.

After all, he had scored more points in the American Hockey League — 28 goals and 43 assists in 86 games — than the 19 goals and 46 points he had in 131 NHL games over parts of three seasons. That’s not much to brag about.

But when the whole mess was finally resolved, both sides ended up with a little of what they wanted.

The Coyotes got an affordable contract — $2.4 million over two years — that made it easy to trade Turris, a problem they no longer wanted, and Turris got a new home in Ottawa, where he is thriving as the team’s second-line centre.

“It just was not right for us, and I didn’t believe his beliefs about his status here was that deep,” said Maloney.

“He told me this is not going to work out and I began looking for the best deal and move ahead. We clearly differed on his game. We thought he would be better suited lower down in the lineup, and he didn’t think so.”

Turris holds no animosity. The Coyotes did draft him third overall in 2007, so at one time they did think he was a good player. That’s a moment he’ll remember forever.

But now he’s just happy to be in Ottawa.

“From what I’ve learned, it’s all business, big business, and I think the way they looked at it was that it was a business situation, as well,” he said.

“I’m definitely a lot more comfortable here, and having more fun, and kind of playing more of my game, and playing the way I know I can play, compared to when I was in Phoenix.

“In that way, it’s more comfortable.”

A big difference has been in coaches.

It’s not difficult to read between the lines to recognize that Turris and Phoenix coach Dave Tippet weren’t on the same wavelength.

“He’s a good coach,” said Turris.

“I mean, he’s had a lot of success, he’s done well with Phoenix and when he was in Dallas he also did well.

“But it wasn’t the right fit for me, for many different reasons.”

On the other hand, Turris credits Ottawa coach Paul MacLean for revitalizing his career.

“It’s been amazing,” said Turris.

“Coach MacLean has given the team and myself confidence and allowed us to play our game and have fun. Having that confidence makes you a hundred times better hockey player.

“He instilled that in me from day one and I can’t say enough about it.

“It’s made me feel comfortable, allowed me to play my game and play the way I have been playing.”

MacLean said the Senators didn’t have any expectations of Turris when he arrived. He missed all of training camp, so it was going to take time for him to get into game-shape.

But once he did, the Senators say potential in him to be the top-six forward they needed. So far, they’ve been right.

And as a former player, MacLean knows how important it is to play with confidence. So he just told Turris to go out and play and not worry about making mistakes.

“That’s a big part of any player, if you know you’re going to get back on the ice,” said MacLean.

“You’re going to play a little bit looser. In Ottawa, we have the circumstances where we can allow him to do that, and that allows players to grow, and he’s really taken advantage of that and showed that he’s a capable player.

“I just think he can be as good as he wants to be.”

When he got traded, Turris looked at Ottawa’s schedule and marked the game against Phoenix. He’ll be trying to treat it as just another game, but he knows that “it’s going to be a fairly different atmosphere for me.

“It’ll be weird walking into the visiting room, it will be weird lining up on the other side of the ice, and all that. And there might be some boos thrown in there.

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